Value chain

The value chain of the Ford Motor Company is not all that different from other manufacturers in the automobile industry. Many years of increased arbitrary demands on suppliers has led to poor supplier relations and so the 100 year-old company is taking a new approach to reinvent its value chain. Procurement makes up more than a quarter of the value chain and so Ford has focused its efforts there. In the past, Ford lowered its supply chain costs by demanding lower prices from its suppliers, in effect obtaining savings at the suppliers expense. It is now taking a different approach. Ford is working closely with its suppliers to eliminate waste and thereby lower costs for both organizations. This should be a win-win situation for both companies and should help lift Ford from its near-last ranking in supplier relations. Another high value impact of the Ford value chain is the design phase. Ford has begun to understand the value of consumer input in successful modern design technologies. They have initiated tailoring design models after public demand. This method has proven highly successful in recent financial periods.

Marketing is also a very important aspect of the Ford automotive value chain and is considered a high value-added part in the value chain. Ford has been working together with dealers to create marketing strategies that help boost sales. This is proven to be the primary basis for the consumers' perceived values.

Information Technology

Ford is also using information technology to improve its value chain. It has teamed-up with Caterpillar Logistics and SAP to improve warehousing and its Daily Parts Advantage network for getting spare parts to their dealers. Their hope in partnering with Cat Logistics was to secure a partner with expertise in the automotive supply chain, laying a foundation for development of a new information system. The goal was to obtain end-toend visibility of service parts, increase the speed of time to market, optimize inventories at each location, and do a better job serving the customer (Supply Chain Brain). Along with Cat Logistics and SAP, Ford is also using an SAS platform that supports customer relationship management (CRM). This SAS platform enhances Ford's existing customer relationship database and provides a powerful base for information analysis, data mining and predictive modeling thus enabling highly effective reporting, trending, segmentation, customer scoring, and customer life-cycle analysis all of which support key activities

for CRM.

Using data modeling to leverage your understanding of customers

and the way that you treat them is the key to customer relationship management. In the future, one of the big challenges for any company marketing to consumers will be to use models more and more effectively." (SAS) The implementation of these information technologies has enabled the Ford value chain to become a cost savings powerhouse for the company. Ford has been able to reduce its supply chain cycle by 57% to 37 days, achieve a 40% decline in inventory levels in the U.S. and an 85% reduction in customer back order lines. Critical Data Elements

Ford is also adopting Lean Manufacturing practices to support continual improvement in the value chain. Studies have suggested that there is as much as 30% waste in many manufacturing processes. In order to combat this, Ford established the Value Analysis Center. With these two programs, critical data elements are identified in order to determine the best approach to eliminate this waste and add greater value to all aspects of the value chain. Lean uses various technological tools, data collection sensors and data manipulation software to describe process baselines, lead times and processes in order to discover waste in the value chain processes. Essentially, the Value Analysis Center at Ford is its cost management program.

Fords Generic Strategy

Most companies in the auto industry are taking similar steps to gain an advantage, but Ford has its own strategy to get the most out of their value chain. Ford is now taking steps to enhance supplier relations. By improving these relations, Ford hopes to ensure consistent production of parts and supplies. By reducing the number of suppliers and offering bigger and longer contracts to the remaining suppliers, Ford hopes to be able to reduce costs while increasing quality and consistency. If the parts suppliers collapse, the automakers would face paralyzing production disruptions and financial repercussions of their own. Ford has invested millions of dollars in improving its value chain. They have seen how the use of technology, standardization, collaborative partnerships with Cat, SAP and SAS has greatly improved their CRM system, predictive modeling and productivity while reducing lead and supply chain cycle times that, together has resulted in an increase in profits. The implementation of these systems has created an efficient and effective value chain for all organizations involved, not just Ford. "It is no longer about getting after a supplier's profits. It's about creating a mutually harmonic and financially beneficial experience for the suppliers in our new value chain"